MILWAUKEE — “Congratulations to Paul and Janna Ryan. I know Wisconsin takes pride that one of our own has been chosen for a place on the national ticket.

Paul and I went to Congress together in 1998; I consider him a friend. We have always managed to disagree without being disagreeable. We have both dedicated our lives to public service, but I am committed to building a much different road to the future.

I believe that the wealthy needs to pay their fair share and that the middle class needs to get a fair shot at the American dream.

Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan and all my opponents in the Senate race believe that we can move our economy forward by looking to the policies of the past that failed and got us into our fiscal mess in the first place. They all support providing budget busting tax cuts to millionaires and paying for them by increasing out of pocket health care costs for seniors, increasing the cost of higher education for students and their families, and ending Medicare as we know it for future generations.

I believe that path is wrong for Wisconsin, wrong for our nation, and that we need to do what’s right for the middle class.”